Hand-rail for moving stair-lifts.



I PATENTED THE. 8, 1903.

J. M. DODGE; HAND RAIL FOR MOVING STAIR LIFTS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 25, 1902.

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No. 719,764. vPA'HJTTBD FEB. 8, 1903.

J. M. DODGE. HAND RAIL FOR MOVING STAIR LIFTS.

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JAMES M. DODGE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE STAIRLIFT COMPANY, OF CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

HAND-RAIL FOR MOVING STAlR-LIFTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 719,764, datedFebruary 3, 1903.

Application filed October 25, 1902. Serial No. 128,777. (No model.)

To all whom it may on e n: shaft B is at the intersection of the outerBe it known that I, JAMES M. DODGE, a citiedge of the tread and theriserbelow it, while zen of the United States, residing in Phila' the shaft Dis at the intersection of the inner delphia, Pennsylvania, haveinventedcertain edge of the tread and the riser above it.

5 Improvements in Hand-Rails for Moving Fis the lower platform ofthestairway, and

Stair-Lifts, of which the followingisaspecifi: F is the upper platformof the"stairway. cation. These platforms are so arranged that a per- Myinvention relates to certain improveson can step onto the stairway fromthe lower ments in moving stairways orinclined planes platform andreadily step off at the upper [O in which there is a moving hand-rail orsupplatform.

port within reach of the person being carried It will be noticed thatwhile the treads and by the moving portion of the stair-lift. risers areformed on the elevating run of the The object of my invention is to movethe conveyor the band on the return run is a simhand-rail at the samespeed as the moving ple straight band in the present instance.

[5 portion of the stair-lift; and this object I at- The endless band Apasses around suitable tain by connecting the hand-rail or supportguideways on each end of the apparatus and directly to the movingportion of the stairis driven in the present instance by means lift, asillustrated in the accompanying drawof drive-chains H at each side ofthe stairway. ings, in which- These chains travel on guides carried bythe 20 Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side View illusbrackets E and passaround suitable driving trating my invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged andguide rollers. (Shown by dotted lines in sectional View of the baseportion of the stair- Fig. 1.) The chains are coupled at intervals lift;and Fig. 3 is atransverse sectional View to the ends of the shaftsB,asillustrated inFig.

on the line 3 3, Fig. 2. 3. This construction is shown and claimed 25 Inthe present instance I have shown my in an application for patent filedDecember invention applied to a moving stair-lift in 27, 1902, SerialNo. 136,815.

which an endless band is formed into treads G is an endless band forminga hand-rail. and risers, as fully illustrated in the patent This band isdriven at the same speed as the granted to me on the 12th day ofDecember, moving band A and is connected to it at in- 30 1899, No.639,154; but it will be understood tervals, as shown in the drawings.Flexible at the outset that my invention can be ap ropes or cords I arecoupled to the hand-rail 8o plied to other types of moving stairways orband G at g and coupled to an arm b on the can be applied to movinginclined planes shaft 13. without departing from my invention. Ipreferably attach a rope or cord I to the 35 A is an endless flexibleband forming the band A-at each shaftB and connect it to the treads andrisers and alluded to hereinafter. hand-rail band G. In the type shownonly The endless band is supported at intervals one or two of the ropesor cords I are taut by cross-shafts B and D, which carry rollers duringthe travel of the band. First one rope I) and cl, respectively. Theshafts D in this and then another takes the strain, so that the 40instance do not support the band on the elehand-rail band is driven fromthe stairway vating run, but simply travel in ways E, through the ropesI. These ropes are taut formed in the presentinstance byachannelnear thelower end of the stairway in the bar, as shown clearly in Fig. 3, whilethe present instance, as shown at 00, Fig. 1, as it rollers I) travel onthe rail 6, supported by the has been found that this connection issufli- 45 channel-bar. The channel-barEissupported cient to drive thehand-rail or support at the in turn byabracket E,attached to the I-beamsame speed as the stair-lift. As soon as the 5 g C, forming the mainsupport for the stairhand-rail band passes the point at the ropes way.This construction may be modified slacken, and they are slack until theyagain Without departing from my invention. The reach this point on thereturn run. The slack rope is taken care of in any suitable manner, land the band is guided on the return run by a rail J, and a guide Kforms a support for the hand-rail band as it travels with the carryingportion of the stairway. This support K is connected by a plate K to theI-beam C in the present instance; but it may be otherwise supportedwithout departing from my invention.

I preferably make the grip portion of the band G U shape, as shown inFig. 3, and provide a series of friction-rollers g, which travel on therail 70 on the guide K.

In order to protect the person carried by the moving stair-lift, Iprovide a shield L, which is suitably supported in front of the ropes orcords, and on the stair-lift are plates a. which extend upward betweentwo flanges Z Z of the shield L, so as to make the joint complete.

In some instances my invention may be applied to a moving sidewalk or ahorizontal conveyer without departing from the invention; but it isespecially applicable for use in connection with moving stairways havingsteps and risers or moving inclined planes.

1 claim as my invention- 1. The combination in a moving stairway orplane, of the endless carrying-section, with an endless hand-rail orsupport connected directly to the moving carrying-section, substantiallyas described.

2. The combination in a moving stairway or plane,ofan endlesscarrying-section,means for driving said section, and an endlesshandrailor support, with connections coupling the hand-rail at intervalsto the movable carrying-section, substantially as described.

3. The combination in a moving stairway or plane, of thecarrying-section, means for driving the carrying-section, an endlessband forming a hand-rail or support, ropes connecting the hand-rail tothe carrying-section, said ropes being so arranged that the majorportion of the cords during the travel of the hand-rail will be slack,substantially as described.

4. The combination in a moving stairway, of an endless band,means forflexing the band on the elevating run to form treads and risers, shaftsfor supporting the band at the nosing of the treads, an endlesshand-rail or support,

ways for the said hand-rail, and connections extending from the shaftsat the nosings of the stairway to the hand-rail, substantially asdescribed.

5. The combination in a moving stairway, of an endless carrying-band,means for flexing the band on the carrying run to form steps and risers,an endless hand-rail or support connected directly to the moving portionof the stairway, a support for the hand-rail, and a shield inclosing theconnecting mechanism between the hand-rail and the carryingsection,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of twosubscribing witnesses.

- JAMES M. ,DODGE.

Witnesses:

WILL. A. BARR, J 0s. H. KLEIN.

